The IPANE Project: Invasive Plant Atlas of New England Leslie J. Mehrhoff Invasive Plant Atlas of New England University of Connecticut

IPANE Project Participants Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Homer Babbidge Library Center for Cartographic Analysis New England Wild Flower Society Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, US F&WS

Primary Funding: United Stated Department of Agriculture – Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems

IPANE Goals New England Early Detection Network Gather current & historic distributional data Make information available Conduct & encourage scientific research Increase public awareness Train volunteer spotters “Interoperability”

IPANE Project Components Atlas of invasive or potentially invasive plants in New England Interactive website Volunteer training - NEWFS Research – UCONN Outreach - NIPGro Regional Early Detection Network

User Community Academia Conservationists Land Managers Government Agencies Regulators & Legislators Green Industries Public

Before we got started... Convened a knowledgeable committee Defined our geography Established parameters for the kinds of data we would, and would not, gather Established criteria Established data gathering protocols

Data Warehouse IN Herbarium records Current field data OUT Species Catalog Collections database Maps

IPANE Collections Databases Herbarium specimen 20 + regional herbaria Capture all label data Geo-referenced – 35 K geo-reference points Metadata Current Field Data Field data from trained volunteers Geo-referenced from GPS or maps Verified by IPANE staff

Importance of Herbarium Specimens Document a species’ occurrence in space and time Permanent record Verifiable Good for teaching, demonstration, or as an identification aid “Herbarium currency”

Volunteer Network 450 in 3 years – 25 per state per year Volunteer coordinator Staff-run training sessions Terrestrial and Aquatic species On-line reporting forms Verification and Quality Control

Spontaneous & Unsolicited Reports “Report sighting” button on website Verification IPANE staff Regional herbaria FNA authors Initiate Rapid Assessment process

The Invasive Plant Atlas for New England Website http:// invasives.eeb.uconn.edu/ipane Maps & database Catalog of species Project information Announcement and unmoderated lists Volunteer support Quizzes and “Weed Wisdom!”

IPANE Catalog Scientific and common names Diagnostic & incursion photographs Descriptive text Historical information Similar species Hard copy references and hot links Management links

Berberis spp. Cardamine impatiens

IPANE Databases Herbarium records 20+ herbaria Historic perspective Modeling & pathways

IPANE Databases Herbarium records 20+ herbaria Historic perspective Modeling & pathways Current field data Ecological & site specific data Available shortly

IPANE Maps Occurrences Herbarium records & current reports State, county, town, & site occurrence ?? Automated

The IPANE Project: An Early Detection and Rapid Assessment Network for New England

Network Components Early Detection Rapid Assessment Rapid Response Long-term Monitoring

IPANE Rapid Responders Database Field Botanists Floristic Botanists Control & Management Experts Regulatory Officials

IPANE Rapid Responders Database Geography – states and regional Responder categories Ecological systems – terrestrial and aquatic

IPANE Rapid Assessment page List of “Early Detection Species” Table of species’ status in all 6 states Early detection protocols How to report a possible new incursion

IPANE list of species Approximately 100 species Includes most of the species that appear on some state or regional list Criteria used to determine biological potential for invasiveness Problematic or questionable species

Other things on the IPANE website Project information Volunteers information Associated projects Associated research Quizzes Weed Wisdom!

Contact us - http://invasives.eeb.uconn.edu/ipane/ ipane@uconn.edu